Metrology is the science of measurement of objects at all scales namely the fields of mass, dimension and temperature.

Mr Galea said that one of the objectives and priorities of his ministry and of government is to improve Malta’s overall competitiveness, and the establishment of national metrology services is aimed at improving Malta’s one-stop-shop capability while positively helping local industry.

“This is precisely why we have sought and attained EU funding for the purchase of equipment, besides a government investment of Lm93,000 for the refurbishing project in Kordin,” said the

minister.

The establishment of the National Metrology Institute will help accomplish three principal objectives:

• to provide local knowledge transfer in the various fundamental fields ventured into,

• to reduce the overall national economic load for the acquisition of traceable measure in the same fields being in the medium- to long- term a net cost saver for Maltese stakeholders and

• to facilitate the fulfilment of traceable calibration requirements for laboratories intending to become accredited.

The laboratories have been designed to:

• be the scientific backbone for the legal metrology service,

• provide traceable measure in the fundamental units selected and

• realise a financially sustainable recurrent cost base.

Mr Galea added that “the synergy generated by the national metrology services, together with the EU delegation in Malta, the parent/partner institutions and suppliers, has helped to achieve this landmark for Malta on time, to allow us to declare that we are the newest and by far the smallest National Metrology Institute in the world.”

The minister said that the national metrology services have already started offering calibration services and the reaction from industry has been very favourable. “A number of local clients are already claiming that the national metrology service is an important cost detractor resulting in a 50 per cent cost saving because it eliminates the need to use foreign labs at much higher cost rates, including expenses for shipping and handling.

“These labs have been appropriately designed to be fit for our economic size and fit for use. In all aspects of the development of the design and construction phases, the use of local technical expertise for the engineering designs and the execution of the work have led to practical, cost-effective, working solutions which have yielded very good reproducible and stable environmental conditions for the accomplishment of these high order measurements,” Mr Galea concluded.

The staff working in the Institute has undergone a technical competency formation with the help of the EUROMET organisation, a collaboration of European National Metrology Institutes. The MSA also teamed up with the Instituto Gustavo Colonetti of Turin, the German National Metrology Institute and the National Metrology Laboratory of Ireland with the aim of achieving the most positive results.

The suppliers selected to support this project are world leaders in their respective fields and have been supplying other national metrology organisations for decades.

The Malta Standards Authority – national metrology services has three primary functions:

• to be the focal point for the maintenance and dissemination of traceable measure in Malta,

• to encourage the right environment, together with interested parties, in initiating research activities and

• to establish a legal metrology service,

Also present at the opening were Ronald Gallimore, Head of the EU Delegation and the Malta Standards Authority chairman Francis Farrugia.